My Guest Post

I'm honored to be the guest blogger on CITA's (Christians in Theater Arts) blog for the month of June. My post is about some of my favorite moments in theater. Here's the link if you'd like to read it:

http://cita.org/site/?p=161

"Why I Do What I Do": Steve Broyles, Theater

Steve Broyles wears many hats: actor, teacher, screenwriter, and more. He is currently Director of Middle School Drama for Wesleyan School in Norcross, GA. In addition to directing two shows each year, he teaches music and drama to grades 5-8. Steve graduated from Regent University in 2001 with an MFA in Script and Screenwriting where he received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award of Excellence. Prior to entering graduate school, he managed the Foothills Playhouse in Easley, South Carolina, and directed large scale musicals for Covenant Presbyterian Church in Easley.

Steve was a commissioned writer for Art Within in 2003 and is a graduate of the MTI Broadway Classroom in New York and a member of the Thespians Society and SETC. Steve is also the regional director for the CITA (Christians in Theatre Arts, http://www.cita.org/) south region.

LeAnne: What is your background in acting? Why do you love theatre?

Steve: My theatre background is scattered. My first play was in the 10th grade—I was a sophomore in a senior play. I played Earnest in The Importance of Being Earnest. Theatre, though, for me, didn’t really kick in until after college. I began to make a name for myself in the local community theatre. When we moved to South Carolina in 1989 I began to look for new connections. Eventually I found two. Besides directing large scale musicals for my church, I hooked up with the Foothills Playhouse and soon began managing, directing, designing and acting. It didn’t take long for me to realize a door was opening and that walking through the door was going to be a huge step for me and my family. So, in the spring of 1998, we sold our house and many of our possessions and moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where I attended graduate school at Regent University.

In many ways it would be arrogant for me to say I was making conscious decisions all along the way. As a child who grew up with undiagnosed learning disabilities, all I knew was that I, somehow, understood the world from a perspective I couldn’t seem to express scientifically or mathematically. For me, story telling is the oldest art form—when it is done well, it activates all the senses and intellectual faculties to get its meaning across. That is Theatre. Naturally, my Creator didn’t give me an option. One way or the other, I was going to come back to theatre at some point in my life.

Caroline Duffy, Part 2: Arts Enthusiast

Arts enthusiast Caroline Duffy is Director of Marketing at Jackson Spalding in Atlanta
where she tries to inject art into her work on a daily basis.


LeAnne: What is your favorite type of art to support and why?

Caroline: Money is an unfortunate barrier these days, so I spend as much time as I can at local arts festivals where I can stroll through, jot down ideas, meet with artists and begin percolating my own ideas. Even if I buy nothing, I leave happier. Even if I'm alone, I am drawn to it. Artists tend to support one another and I have felt welcomed in that community even though I haven't yet begun to display anything.

Theatre is my first love in the arts and I never tire of studying the actors and the nuances they bring to their roles.

One of my favorite sounds is the orchestra tuning up before a musical performance. In that moment I feel a rush of excitement, a wave of appreciation for their professionalism, and a certain jealousy for the energy that is about to be unleashed on stage.

Les Miserables

Even though it was my third time, it moved me again as before. Maybe more so. After all, I'm older now, and wiser, I hope, and a mother, too, which has changed how I view just about everything. But I think that if I were to see Les Miserables a dozen times, I would still be moved by this story of grace, forgiveness, redemption, sacrifice, love, courage, compassion, loyalty, and more. I found myself marveling that this classic that deals so obviously with important spiritual questions should be so popular, still bringing in crowds after years of touring the country.

The first two times I saw it, I was in my early 20s. I identified with Cosette's and Eponine's feelings of love for Marius as well as the students' idealism. But yesterday, I ached for Fantine and her motherless child. And Javert seemed so much more human to me--still obsessed with Valjean and the law but truly baffled by Valjean's act of mercy toward him. 

Even more, though, I found myself caught up in Jean Valjean--a sinner given a second chance to make a life for himself beyond his circumstances. To be honest and honorable, even when it cost him dearly. To live the life of a man and not a number. Would I have been so brave and true? I hope so.

This cast had strong, powerful voices that soared with the music one moment, then faded to exquisite harmonies the next. If the words were in another language and I could not understand them, I would still be moved to tears--and cheers. 

Les Miserables has given me much to consider and remember. That's what good theater does. 

Joseph Frost, Part 2: Listening on Stage

Today I'm finishing up my interview with playwright, director and actor Joseph Frost. Frost earned an MA in Theatre: Acting and Directing and an MFA in Script and Screenwriting from Regent University. He appeared in the film The Proper Care and Feeding of An American Messiah and will be in the indie feature Endings written and directed by Christopher J. Hansen. He has won awards for his writing for both stage (The Great Play) and screen (The Heart of Saturday Night), and his plays were the feature of the 2005 Malone College Playwright's Showcase. He has directed both classic and contemporary works, including some world premieres. He has been a participant in Art Within's Symposium for writers of faith and was the president of the board of directors for Christians in Theatre Arts (CITA). Joseph is chair of theatre at Belhaven College and founding artistic director of the floodlight theatre company.

LeAnne: As an acting teacher, what two or three things do you want your students to know or understand when they leave the program?

Joseph: The most important thing I try to instill in all of my students is probably the simplest--that they are each a single part of a larger production. At Belhaven College, our mission is to train student artists to use the art of theatre to serve their community, their collaborators and their Creator. It's easy for actors in particular to get caught up in ego, in ambition, and be very self-absorbed. But if the focus is on service to one's collaborators (from playwright to wardrobe personnel to the designers and director) and on the audience and larger community, then the art of acting takes on a significance larger than bringing oneself glory or getting a paycheck. This attitude can then also carry itself onto the stage.

In acting, listening is probably the most important key--next to just relaxing and 'being' on the stage (and not 'performing'). If you're going to be listening on stage, you have to be aware and sensitive to what is going on around you, and understand how you are contributing to what an audience is receiving from the stage picture and event that you are creating. This involves listening to the actors around you, as well as being sensitive to the design choices that have been made by the technical team, all of which are on the stage with you at all times. To get actors to heighten this awareness, I work with the Viewpoints exercises of Anne Bogart and Tina Landau.

LM: Have you faced challenges or obstacles in theatre because of your faith? If so, how did you overcome them?

JF: I don't think that anyone working in the theatre can claim to not have had challenges or obstacles of some kind or other. Sure, as a Christian, I find myself positioned between an artform that poses difficulties for the church to embrace and a worldly community of artists who tend to recoil at the absolutes of Jesus.

Some of the obstacles, I think, aren't likely to be overcome. Some of them exist, I believe, to keep us in a healthy tension. How do we love without condoning? How do we point out sin without being guilty of pride or judgmentalism (or at least hypocrisy)? 

It's certainly a challenge, but when faced with those issues that we often think of as obstacles--things like language, the portrayal of sin and fallenness, even the idea of working in environments that will put us in contrast with a prevailing lifestyle--are continuing opportunities for us to pray over each and every daily choice. And I believe that the answers to those opportunities might change in different situations, as the Lord leads us.

Joseph Frost, Part 1: Hooked by Theatre

Joseph Frost is a playwright, director and actor living with his wife, Shannon, and children, Nina and Darby, in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned an MA in Theatre: Acting and Directing and an MFA in Script and Screenwriting from Regent University. Joseph appeared in the film The Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah and will be in the indie feature Endings written and directed by Christopher J. Hansen. Frost has won awards for his writing for both stage (The Great Play) and screen (The Heart of Saturday Night), and his plays were the feature of the 2005 Malone College Playwright's Showcase. He has directed both classic and contemporary works, from Shakespeare to Chekhov to Ionesco, along with several world premieres including Paul Patton's Kurt Gerstein, and his own DisEase and Braids, and this fall will be directing a new work based on the book of Ecclesiastes. He has been a participant in the Art Within Symposium for writers of faith and the president of the board of directors for Christians in Theatre Arts (CITA). Joseph is the Chair of Theatre at Belhaven College and the founding artistic director of the floodlight theatre company. 

LeAnne: Have you always been a performer?

Joe: As a kid, I remember my cousins, my brother, and I used to make up skits to perform for our parents, like an at-home vaudeville. I was involved in several performances at church and that kind of thing. But it wasn't until junior year in high school that I got involved in theatre--I was a guy, and I was standing too close to the auditions for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (12 brothers needed!). I went to college thinking I'd go into Music Education, but halfway through the first semester I got hooked into the theatre program. It was a very small department, and I had the opportunity to be involved at every level.

LM: What two roles have been your favorites?

JF: I had the privilege to play the role of Hamlet at Regent University in 2003. It's an absolute mountain of lines, all of which are brilliant, and it challenges one's acting abilities both dramatically and comedically. It was a turning point kind of role for me. I was really blessed to be able to step up to it.

I also got to play the lead role of Davis in the original production of James Frizzell's In the Flesh. The process of working on new plays is a real passion of mine, and that play in particular was one where I felt very strongly about the importance of the story, though it's a difficult one.

LM: Tell me briefly about your playwriting process. Do you start with an idea, a character, a scene? Are you working on any plays right now?

JF: It can vary from project to project for me. I actually have a very bad writing process in terms of discipline--when the inspiration strikes, I write. A more disciplined writer might be able to take a theme and shape a story to suit it, but I generally start from a single element--a setting or piece of dialogue--and build from there. One of my first plays was inspired by watching a performance that I didn't like. I started thinking, "What would I rather be watching right now?" I can only write what interests me, rather than thinking purposefully about pleasing or speaking to a particular audience. For that matter, I often  don't know what my writing is about until it's done.

I'm in rewrites on a new play called Anathema. It's a difficult play, and the story deals with the unraveling of an unhealthy family dynamic. I started on it because I read an interesting news article about a particular family that I found striking. As I wrote, things happened in the story that I hadn't expected so it's become quite different from the original article I read. I'm hoping to finish another draft before the end of the summer.

On Thursday, Joe Frost will talk about teaching acting as well as the challenges he has faced in theatre because of his faith.

Corrie Eddleman, Part 2: Seeking the Truth

Today I’m concluding my interview with Corrie Eddleman, Assistant Professor of Acting at North Greenville University. She holds a BS in Theatre and Speech Communication from Hannibal LaGrange College and an MFA degree in Acting from Illinois State University. A member of Actor’s Equity since 1999, she has worked professionally off Broadway and across the mid-west. Her training includes work at the Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford, England), The National Theatre Institute and the Chautauqua Theatre Conservatory. She has also studied Alexander, Michael Chekhov and Laban techniques. In addition to teaching, acting and directing on campus she directs the Act Two traveling drama ministry team. She is married to Matthew, a hospice chaplain with Spartanburg Regional. Their favorite hobby is spoiling their English Bulldog, Harley.


LeAnne: Tell me about Act Two, the traveling drama ministry team you direct.

Corrie: Act Two is made up of five female and five male student actors who travel on the weekends to perform at churches across the state. They perform Sunday mornings and evenings and sometimes have the opportunities to work with youth groups on Saturday nights. We all meet a week before classes start in August as sort of our “boot camp” week. During this time, we put up the program that we will be working with all year. Usually we develop a series of short sketches with a common theme that lasts anywhere from 20 – 40 minutes in length.

I am very excited about next year’s program. We decided to produce a one-act play on the life of Job. It is a play that starts out in present day with a married couple who is dealing with a lot of the same issues and problems that Job faced. Then we jump back to the actual Job story and finally circle around to present day once again. We will also work up sketch material to have on hand as alternative choices. I have been blessed with hard-working students who have big hearts for God. They want to use their gift of acting/theatre to minister to the church and to people who do not have a relationship with God.

LM: As an acting teacher, what two or three things do you want your students to know or understand when they leave the program?

CE: I attended a chapel service a few weeks ago in which we had a choir come and sing for the entire hour. The last song they sang had a chorus that stated: “Go in peace, Live in grace, and trust God’s love.” This is what I want my students to know and understand as they leave the comfort of the university and enter the real world.

We as Christians have been given an amazing gift of Peace. Not a peace as Man understands, but a Peace that passes all understanding and we need to 1. Remember and find comfort in that Peace and 2. Share that Peace with those who are hurting. We also need to remember that Grace truly is an amazing gift. I am humbled when I reflect on His Grace and the love He has shown me. Trust in God’s Love… easier said than done a lot of times. To imagine that the Creator loves me… me, the beautifully flawed human… is just hard to comprehend at times. But, when I do trust and believe in His Love, I am free.

In regards to acting and theatre, I want my students to let go of the idea of right and wrong. I don’t want them to think of a performance as trying to get the character “right”. I want them to explore in rehearsal and throughout the performance run. To understand that freedom will help break down the actor’s barriers so that s/he will allow her/himself to be more vulnerable and honest through her/his character. To let go of the end result and to enjoy the journey will aid the actor creatively, intuitively, and will also help alleviate stress and pressure (which leads to more fun!).

LM: Have you faced challenges in the world of theater because of your faith? Have you been able to blend your faith and your acting? How?

CE: I can’t recall a time in which I was challenged because of my faith. I have had many moments in rehearsals or performances in which I have grown closer and sometimes farther away from God. I have been able to blend my faith and acting. Faith to me is about trusting and believing in the truth. Acting to me is about seeking the truth. Sometimes that truth is beautiful and sometimes that truth is ugly. If I agree with what a play is saying then I have no problem playing the “evil” or hell-bound character. When I was in undergraduate school, I was sweating over whether or not I should become an actor because I might encounter some foul language or questionable behavior. My mom asked me if I’d have any problem playing Bathsheba in the story of David. At that moment it all clicked for me. Let’s get past the “right and wrong” behavior. Let’s focus on the message and what we can learn from the character and from the play. Let’s focus on relationships. The Bible is full of immoral behavior; it is also full of truth. The Bible is full of beautiful and ugly stories… so is my life, my very real, honest life.

Corrie Eddleman: On Shakespeare

Corrie Eddleman is Assistant Professor of Acting at North Greenville University. She holds a BS in Theatre and Speech Communication from Hannibal LaGrange College and an MFA degree in Acting from Illinois State University. A member of Actor’s Equity since 1999, she has worked professionally off Broadway and across the mid-west. Her training includes work at the Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford, England), The National Theatre Institute and the Chautauqua Theatre Conservatory. She has also studied Alexander, Michael Chekhov and Laban techniques. In addition to teaching, acting and directing on campus she directs the Act Two traveling drama ministry team. She is married to Matthew, a hospice chaplain with Spartanburg Regional. Their favorite hobby is spoiling their English Bulldog, Harley.


LeAnne: When I’m talking to artists, I’m always fascinated to learn when their love for art began, so I inevitably ask questions like these: Have you been a performer your whole life? When did you start acting?

Corrie: I remember my first experience with a play production was when I was in the second grade. My class was putting together a short play on the digestive process (a thrilling topic, I know). I took it upon myself to design the set and costumes. A huge mouth was to be cut out to shape the proscenium, the tongue was going to come out into the house and act as a stage extension, and the costumes I designed looked oh-so-fab in my mind. To my disappointment, the teacher was unable to use my ideas. Looking back, we would have needed a grandiose budget to develop my concept; but we opted for construction paper costumes and a bare stage. I had fun playing my role as Salivary Gland and was looking forward to playing in the future.

Throughout grade school and middle school, I was able to play many parts in play/musical productions at my church; but it wasn’t until high school when I got to experience a true traditional theatre experience. My freshman year I was cast as Mrs. Harper in Arsenic and Old Lace. A very small role, but in a high school of over 2,000 students I was happy to participate in any capacity. From there I was hooked and continued to audition for every play and musical that came my way.

LM: You just landed the lead roles in the Illinois Shakespeare Festival’s summer 2008 season. Congratulations! How does that feel? The two roles-- Katherine in Taming of the Shrew and Tamora in Titus Andronicus—are very different. What will be your biggest challenges in playing them?

CE: I am thrilled and nervous about this summer at ISF. I am a huge Shakespeare fan and to be able to tackle two fabulous female roles in the same summer is somewhat daunting. Not only is his language beautiful, but he creates complex, realistic and completely human characters to which actors are naturally drawn. People have been enjoying his plays for 400 years for a reason: he speaks to the human condition in all of its beauty and its flaws. Shakespeare seeks truth, and that is exactly what I will be after this summer as well.

One of the biggest challenges with Katherine will be that this play is so well known. Many people have seen good if not excellent productions of Taming of the Shrew that it will be natural for the audience to compare my Kate to the Kate they first saw. I will be working on letting those preconceived notions and ideas of Kate leave my mind. She will be created form scratch and I am so excited to see how she develops. My ultimate goal will be to create a three-dimensional woman, not just a “shrew”. I want to highlight her uniqueness while zeroing in on who she is at her core. What did Shakespeare intend with this play? What has made Kate a “shrew”? How can I relate to Kate on a personal level? These are all of the questions I will be asking myself this summer in hopes to develop an honest, yet entertaining woman.

I think Tamora will be a bit more freeing for me. Titus Andronicus is a play that is not often produced; ideas of how this play “should” be will not be as prevalent among viewers. Tamora is evil. I always enjoy playing a role that is completely not me. Don’t get me wrong, I have the capacity to be evil and have unfortunately participated in evil things, but not to the extent of Tamora. The challenge with this character will be for me to see and bring to life her redeeming qualities. Tamora isn’t evil just because--something brought her to this place in her life and I want to discover how she became this woman.

LM: What have been your two favorite roles so far? Why?

CE: I thoroughly enjoyed playing Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire for many of the same reasons I enjoy Shakespeare. Tennessee Williams creates these worlds that are beautiful and ugly all at the same time. He wrote about topics that were edgy for their time while not preaching or being didactic in his telling of the story. Blanche is an iconic role, but she is also very accessible from an actor’s view point. William’s use of language is breathtaking, pointed and emotionally charged. Working on any of his plays is always an honor.

Another role that ranks at the top of my list is Mable Tidings in Pride’s Crossing by Tina Howe. It is a beautiful play about memories, dreams, joy, hardship and regret. Written in episodic form, the scenes switch back and forth from the present (when Mable is 90 years old) to the past (Mabel at various ages throughout her life). What a challenge it was to create a believable 90 year old woman and then to switch to the age of seven within a matter of seconds! With a symbolic set and minimal props & costumes the age difference and believability fell square on my shoulders. The show was received with many accolades and the director, Deb Alley, will also be directing me in Titus Andronicus this summer. I am excited to see what she does with Titus.

Steve Broyles, Part 2: Learning to Lead with Love

Today I’m continuing my interview with Steve Broyles, actor, teacher, screenwriter, consultant, and CITA region director.

LeAnne: What has been your experience as a Christian in theatre?

Steve: The communities I did theatre in were fairly conservative. In that atmosphere, there wasn’t a demand for edgier shows, so the issues of morality in terms of show content rarely came up. I don’t think there are as many obstacles in theatre in general as we imagine. Some people who work in theatre are often there because it is a last refuge of acceptance. Naturally, if I walk in as a stereotypical Christian—judgmental, condescending—I will have created my own obstacles to genuine relationships and potential ministry. Christians need to learn to lead with love. It is there we find more opportunities than we can imagine.

LM: For the last few years, you have been a member of the Creative Team of Art Within, an arts and media organization that develops scripts for stage and screen “that are relevant to contemporary culture and that explore Hope and Truth from a Judeo-Christian perspective” (www.artwithin.org). What is your involvement with them now?

SB: At this point, I’m a distant supporter of Art Within. Since they moved their offices, I have been unable to make the weekly Creative Team meetings. There has been talk of reviving a screenplay I wrote for Art Within three years ago. So now I have to determine whether or not I can dedicate the time it would take to recommit to such a task. I have several other writing projects in various states of completion that I would love to finish. However, recently I have done more work consulting with others on their writing projects. But God’s purpose for me right now is clear; I just need to continue to practice my art and be ready for the opportunities when they arise.

LM: Tell me about your role with Christians in Theater Arts (CITA, www.cita.org).

SB: As a CITA regional director I am the point person for the CITA south region. In addition to being a rotating member of the CITA board, I am also charged with coordinating regional meetings and events. Right now, we’re in the process of planning new long range goals for the south region as well as the national organization.

I believe in the vision of CITA to equip Christians with practical tools in the dramatic arts and to create networks for artists across our region and the country. The south region is overflowing with talented artists, working in their local communities to glorify God in the dramatic arts. We need to foster a greater awareness of each other’s work and a chance to learn and grow from each other’s expertise.

For more info on CITA, check out LeAnne’s Q&A with Dale Savidge, Executive Director, at http://christiansinthearts.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html.

Laura Millar, Part 2: Stepping into Someone Else’s Shoes

Today I’m finishing my interview with Laura Millar. Laura grew up on stage. She was in her first production at the age of five and has performed in one almost every year since. She has acted and sung in both professional and community theater. Her favorite roles include Annie from Annie, Get Your Gun!, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, and Maria in The Sound of Music. She also has taught drama and choreographed productions.

LeAnne: You have taught drama to kids. What draws you to teaching?

Laura: It’s my gift, and my passion is working with kids. I want to get the kids to love performing. I like to help them think about the motivation of a character: “Why is this character doing what he’s doing? Why do you think she said that?” Understanding why someone does something is the first step in being able to convey them to an audience. Stepping into their shoes, so to speak, helps in the communicating process of acting.

The discipline of getting something performance ready is very valuable. For children, being in a play is the perfect scenario. They are “playing” someone and it naturally goes along with what children do in their own play times. By letting them know it is an art and that is a creative, subjective thing, it takes a bit of pressure off of them and helps to make it more fun.

LeAnne: You’ve been performing for most of your life. What would you say is one of the most important things you’ve learned through acting?

Laura: As a Christian, and having the benefit of walking with the Lord a lot of years now, I look back and see the benefit of having to become a lot of characters. I think God uses this understanding of motivations on me. Many times He has reminded me to step into their shoes. It has enabled me to reach down inside and understand someone and thus be able to forgive them. Not that it is necessarily any easier, but it certainly convicts me quicker when I am not doing it!